Acts 12:2
New International Version
He had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword.

New Living Translation
He had the apostle James (John’s brother) killed with a sword.

English Standard Version
He killed James the brother of John with the sword,

Berean Standard Bible
He had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword.

Berean Literal Bible
And he put to death James the brother of John with the sword.

King James Bible
And he killed James the brother of John with the sword.

New King James Version
Then he killed James the brother of John with the sword.

New American Standard Bible
And he had James the brother of John executed with a sword.

NASB 1995
And he had James the brother of John put to death with a sword.

NASB 1977
And he had James the brother of John put to death with a sword.

Legacy Standard Bible
And he had James the brother of John put to death with a sword.

Amplified Bible
And he had James the brother of John put to death with a sword;

Christian Standard Bible
and he executed James, John’s brother, with the sword.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
and he killed James, John’s brother, with the sword.

American Standard Version
And he killed James the brother of John with the sword.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
And he murdered Yaqob the brother of Yohannan with the sword.

Contemporary English Version
He ordered soldiers to cut off the head of James, the brother of John.

Douay-Rheims Bible
And he killed James, the brother of John, with the sword.

English Revised Version
And he killed James the brother of John with the sword.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
He had James, the brother of John, executed.

Good News Translation
He had James, the brother of John, put to death by the sword.

International Standard Version
He even had James, the brother of John, killed with a sword.

Literal Standard Version
and he killed James, the brother of John, with the sword,

Majority Standard Bible
He had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword.

New American Bible
He had James, the brother of John, killed by the sword,

NET Bible
He had James, the brother of John, executed with a sword.

New Revised Standard Version
He had James, the brother of John, killed with the sword.

New Heart English Bible
He killed James, the brother of John, with the sword.

Webster's Bible Translation
And he killed James the brother of John with the sword.

Weymouth New Testament
and James, John's brother, he beheaded.

World English Bible
He killed James, the brother of John, with the sword.

Young's Literal Translation
and he killed James, the brother of John, with the sword,

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
James Killed, Peter Imprisoned
1About that time, King Herod reached out to harm some who belonged to the church. 2 He had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword. 3And seeing that this pleased the Jews, Herod proceeded to seize Peter during the Feast of Unleavened Bread.…

Cross References
Matthew 4:21
Going on from there, He saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets. Jesus called them,

Matthew 20:23
"You will indeed drink My cup," Jesus said. "But to sit at My right or left is not Mine to grant. These seats belong to those for whom My Father has prepared them."

Mark 10:39
"We can," the brothers answered. "You will drink the cup that I drink," Jesus said, "and you will be baptized with the baptism that I undergo.

Acts 12:1
About that time, King Herod reached out to harm some who belonged to the church.


Treasury of Scripture

And he killed James the brother of John with the sword.

James.

Matthew 4:21,22
And going on from thence, he saw other two brethren, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in a ship with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and he called them…

Matthew 20:23
And he saith unto them, Ye shall drink indeed of my cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with: but to sit on my right hand, and on my left, is not mine to give, but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared of my Father.

Mark 10:35,38
And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, come unto him, saying, Master, we would that thou shouldest do for us whatsoever we shall desire…

with.

1 Kings 19:1,10
And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and withal how he had slain all the prophets with the sword…

Jeremiah 26:23
And they fetched forth Urijah out of Egypt, and brought him unto Jehoiakim the king; who slew him with the sword, and cast his dead body into the graves of the common people.

Hebrews 11:37
They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented;

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Acts 12
1. King Herod persecutes the Christians, kills James, and imprisons Peter;
6. whom an angel delivers upon the prayers of the church.
20. Herod in his pride taking to himself the honor due to God,
23. is stricken by an angel, and dies miserably.
24. After his death, the word of God prospers.
25. Saul and Barnabas return to Antioch.














(2) He killed James the brother of John with the sword.--Had the Apostle been tried by the Sanhedrin on a charge of blasphemy and heresy, the sentence would have been death by stoning. Decapitation showed, as in the case of John the Baptist, that the sentence was pronounced by a civil ruler, adopting Roman modes of punishment, and striking terror by them in proportion as they were hateful to the Jews. The death of James reminds us of his Lord's prediction that he, too, should drink of His cup, and be baptised with His baptism (Matthew 20:23). The fulfilment of that prophecy was found for one brother in his being the proto-martyr of the apostolic company, as it was found for the other in his being the last survivor of it. What led to his being selected as the first victim we can only conjecture; but the prominent position which he occupies in the Gospels, in company with Peter and John, probably continued, and the natural vehemence indicated in the name of Son of Thunder may have marked him out as among the foremost teachers of the Church. The brevity of St. Luke's record presents a marked contrast to the fulness of later martyrologies. A tradition preserved by Eusebius (Hist. ii. 9) as coming from Clement of Alexandria, records that his accuser was converted by beholding his faith and patience, confessed his new faith, and was led to execution in company with the Apostle, who bestowed on him the parting benediction of "Peace be with thee."

Verse 2. - James, the son of Zebedee, or James the Elder, to whom, with his brother John, our Lord gave the surname of Boanerges (which is a corruption of בְנֵי דֶגֶשׁ), sons of thunder. Nothing is recorded of him in the Acts but his presence in the upper room at Jerusalem after the Ascension (Acts 1:13), and this his martyrdom, which was the fulfillment of our Lord's prediction in Matthew 20:23. His being singled out by Herod for death in company with Peter is rather an indication of his zeal and activity in the Lord's service, though we know nothing of his work. Eusebius relates an anecdote of his martyrdom, extracted from the lost work of Clement of Alexandria, called the Ὑποτυτώσεις (or in Latin Adumbrationes), which Clement professed to have received by tradition from his predecessors, to the effect that the informer who accused James was so struck with his constancy in confessing Christ before the judge, that he came forward and confessed himself a Christian too. The two were then led off to execution together; and on the way the informer asked James's forgiveness. After a moment's hesitation, James said to him, "Peace be unto thee," and kissed him. They were then both beheaded ('Eccl. Hist.,' 2. 9.). As Clement flourished about A.D. , the tradition need not have passed through more than three persons. It has been thought strange that Luke relates the death of a chief apostle with such brevity. But it did not bear on the main object of his work. Lightfoot ('Works,' vol. 8. p. 282, etc.) mentions a fanciful story related by Rabauus Maurus, that about this time the apostles composed the Apostles' Creed, each contributing one clause, and that the clause contributed by James the brother of John was, "And in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord."

Parallel Commentaries ...


Greek
{He had} James,
Ἰάκωβον (Iakōbon)
Noun - Accusative Masculine Singular
Strong's 2385: The same as Iakob Graecized; Jacobus, the name of three Israelites.

the
τὸν (ton)
Article - Accusative Masculine Singular
Strong's 3588: The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.

brother
ἀδελφὸν (adelphon)
Noun - Accusative Masculine Singular
Strong's 80: A brother, member of the same religious community, especially a fellow-Christian. A brother near or remote.

of John,
Ἰωάννου (Iōannou)
Noun - Genitive Masculine Singular
Strong's 2491: Of Hebrew origin; Joannes, the name of four Israelites.

put to death
ἀνεῖλεν (aneilen)
Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 337: From ana and haireomai; to take up, i.e. Adopt; by implication, to take away, i.e. Abolish, murder.

with the sword.
μαχαίρῃ (machairē)
Noun - Dative Feminine Singular
Strong's 3162: A sword. Probably feminine of a presumed derivative of mache; a knife, i.e. Dirk; figuratively, war, judicial punishment.


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NT Apostles: Acts 12:2 He killed James the brother of John (Acts of the Apostles Ac)
Acts 12:1
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